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Mashiba Ryō
Mashiba Ryou (間柴 了) is a recurring character in Hajime no Ippo. During the events of the Rookie King tournament, he was the main antagonist. He is a multi-weight class (currently lightweight) boxer affiliated with Toho Boxing Gym, the current OPBF Lightweight champion, and the older brother of Mashiba Kumi. His surname is Mashiba. In Japan, surnames are listed before given names. It's been stated that he's Stronger than the likes of Miyata, Sendo, Ippo, Volg, and even Takamura. History Years prior to the start of the storyline, when Mashiba was still in high school, his parents were killed in an accident and he swore two things on their graves: that he would never rely on anyone but himself and that anyone who harmed Kumi would pay dearly. He is first seen at the license gathering for all new rookies and later in the rookie king tournament, brutally attacking his opponents on both occasions. Then he spotted Miyata at a match and insulted his father, which provoked a rivalry between the two. At the semi-finals, Miyata was his opponent. Initially Miyata appeared to have the upper hand, but Mashiba committed a foul by stepping on Miyata's foot to hold him still; subsequently he beat Miyata brutally. Miyata still fought on, showing tenacious spirit which even Mashiba showed fear from, but ultimately Miyata couldn't fight properly with one foot and he lost. Ippo, who felt despair due to becoming unable to meet Miyata in the east rookie king finals, ran into Mashiba afterward. Mashiba was glad Miyata was sent to the hospital, which only made Ippo angrier. Upon Ippo and Mashiba meeting in the east rookie king finals Mashiba landed pretty decent blows and had Ippo on the ropes, but Ippo showed a determination (similar to Miyata) that Mashiba felt fear from and Ippo ultimately won. He was later stated to have moved up to the Jr. Lightweights (which Kimura grieved over, saying he didn't want to fight a monster like him). Around the time Mashiba was about to challenge for his championship, Ippo challenged Date Eiji. He asked Kumi not to come knowing how bloody the fight would have been and Ippo later sees him brutally beaten but ultimately wins the belt. Whereas Ippo didn't. So although losing to Ippo, he won the japanesse belt before he did. Kimura finally readies himself to have a match with Mashiba for the belt. After showing tremendous tenacity and relentless skill (a side not usually seen from Kimura) he nearly beats Mashiba, even saying he can see the belt in his hands. But ultimately Mashiba shows severe desperation and wins a very tough bout, even saying it's the toughest he's been through. He later has an encounter with Sawumura Ryuuhei (whom Ippo was about to fight in the next two days)and he knicks Kumi with hist fist for touching his bike and Mashiba retaliates by swinging a punch at him and gets into his hitman stance before Ippo said he would take care of him. After his loss to Ippo, Sawumura moves up to Jr.Lightweight to challenge Mashiba for the JBC Championship. Sparks fly as they both commit foul after foul and blood flies everywhere. It could easily be the bloodiest fight in the series. It ends with Mashiba punching Sawumura out of the ring and giving him a concussion with a foul. Even though Sawamura was the one KO'd, Mashiba lost the belt because he attacked before the referee gave the okay. The match was appropriately titled "Chaos". In his return match he moved up to Lightweight. He had a bit of a tough bout but won the OPBF Lightweight belt. He now has a fan club called the Death Society. He is ranked 5th in the world. Match History Successions Personality Mashiba is one of the most intimidating characters in the series. Because of what happened to his parents, Mashiba chooses to be unsociable and cynical, rarely associating with anyone but his sister, which has often resulted in him being fired from jobs. He does seem to be resentful of the world at large, but he is legitimately drawn to boxing, believing it to be fair. Mashiba is usually seen to be one of the meddlers in Ippo's relationship with Kumi, being protective to the point of overbearing. He has slackened somewhat but does still keep an eye on them if the mood strikes him. He also does not tell Kumi when his matches are, perhaps knowing that she dislikes boxing anyway and even warned her not to come to the match with Sawamura as he knew that it would most likely turn into a bloodbath. He is a rather deadly boxer, having earned his nickname, "Shinigami (God of Death), because many of his opponents retired after facing him. Appearance Fighting Style Mashiba is exceptionally tall and his reach is even more impressive, often chipping away at his opponents with his fast jabs. Even if someone manages to step in, they still have to face his deadly Chopping Right. He has also added a devastating right uppercut to his arsenal, presumably to remedy his weakness to in-fighting. Mashiba is one of the few characters who uses the offensive Hitman Style developed by Thomas Hearns. Mashiba's height and reach allows him to have a fast and very quick flicker jab that is almost impossible to get past. The jab has become so sharp over the course of the series it is now compared to a reaper's scythe, and can even have a whiplash effect on the skin if thrown at maximum range. Besides the flicker jabs Mashiba also uses long hooks with both arms and right straights. Most of his techniques are long range. His typical KO pattern involves using the flicker to corner and weaken the opponent and then slam in a chopping right to their jaw. If pressured into medium to close-range fights he knows to use his arms to deflect most attacks with ease, often via elbow blocks. During his one year suspension, Mashiba added a right high uppercut to his arsenal to deal with In Fighters. Techniques *Flicker Jab *Chopping Right *Elbow Block *Illegal Blows (Formerly) *Uppercut Weaknesses Mashiba's hitman style is also his greatest weakness since he has to drop his left guard, which gives his opponent a chance to drive a major attack on his right. Also, due to Mashiba's height he is very bad against close range fighters, such as Ippo. One of the major ways to take down Mashiba would also be to attack his jaw, as seen when Ippo and Miyata managed to give him a down with one attack straight to his jaw, but they would have to attack his body a couple of times to make it come down lower. He uses the elbow block to deal with strong punches, but continued attacks can render his left arm damaged and he would lose his Flicker jabs. Generally speaking, Mashiba is poor at taking hits. He shows fear towards opponents with strong fighting spirit, such as Makunouchi and Kimura Tatsuya, though Mashiba himself possesses formidable spirit born of desperation. Originally, Mashiba had to deal with major weight control, but he has since moved from the Featherweight class to the Junior Lightweight class, to his natural Lightweight class. Gallery Placeholder.jpg Quotes *''"I will never rely on anyone, and anyone who harms my little sister will pay."'' - Oaths he took before his parents' graves (paraphrased) *''"As long as I exist, you'll never make it to the top of the Featherweight class."'' - Episode 9, Mashiba's very first line in the anime and to Ippo Trivia *Mashiba has fought Ippo, Miyata, Kimura, and Sawamura throughout his career, making him the most rivaled non-protagonist in the series. **He is also the most active multi-weight class boxer in the series since he has fought in the featherweights, junior lightweights, and lightweights (which is more weight classes than Takamura has fought in). Category:Active boxers Category:Male characters Category:Characters from Japan Category:Characters from Tokyo Category:Toho Boxing Gym Category:Featherweights Category:Junior Lightweights Category:Japanese Junior Lightweight Champion Ryo Category:Boxers Category:Champions Category:Lightweights Category:OPBF Lightweight Champion Category:Multi-weight class boxers